Anthony returns to New York to face old team

The Canadian Press

Carmelo Anthony
, The Canadian Press

NEW YORK — Carmelo Anthony is coming to Kristaps Porzingis' house.

Three months after the Knicks traded Anthony to Oklahoma City, their former All-Star is gone and quickly forgotten. Porzingis is playing nearly as well as Anthony ever did in New York and seems to enjoy unyielding support from both fans and the front office that Anthony never had.

Porzingis has something else Anthony doesn't: a winning record.

The Knicks welcome Anthony back on Saturday, trying to extend their surprising start though perhaps without the new main man in Madison Square Garden.

Anthony said after a triple-overtime victory in Philadelphia on Friday that he expected a fun night in New York.

"I think it'll be an appreciation. It's not like I was there for a year or a season or two seasons. I spent a lot of time there, almost seven years there," he said. "There was great times, there was bad times. Regardless, I always stuck with it. I always remained professional. I always came and did my job whether people liked that or not. Hopefully people recognize that."

Unlike team management, Porzingis didn't want his friend to leave.

But it sure looks like it was the best thing for him and the Knicks.

"Well obviously, I would love to have had him here to continue to learn from him," Porzingis said. "But without him this year I've had more of an opportunity. I am featured more, which is normal."

Porzingis is listed as questionable to play after he left the Knicks' game in Brooklyn on Thursday in the third quarter with a sore left knee. New York held on after he left, improving to 15-13 with its third straight victory.

If Porzingis plays, count on the usual raucous ovation when he's the final starter announced, the spot that previously belonged to Anthony.

And what of the reception for Anthony, who led the Knicks to three straight playoff appearances after arriving in 2011, led the league in scoring when they won 54 games and a division championship in 2013, and always made it clear that he loved New York and didn't want to go?

"I don't think he deserves to be booed, but you never know," Knicks forward Lance Thomas said. "Regardless, he is going to bring his 'A' game and we're going to bring ours as well."

Former team president Phil Jackson longed to unload Anthony last season, but the Knicks weren't sure what to expect when they finally did make a deal on the eve of training camp. He was their leading scorer and team leader, and coach Jeff Hornacek had already said Anthony would be in the starting lineup if he remained on the team.

But new president Steve Mills and general manager Scott Perry found a trade the next day and it's been a good one for the Knicks. Enes Kanter is giving them 13.4 points and 10.3 rebounds a game as the starting centre while providing positivity that for years rarely existed in the home locker room. Doug McDermott is bringing another 8.5 points a night off the bench.

Anthony is struggling right along with the Thunder, a top-25 scorer in NBA history potentially on his way to the worst season of his career. He went into Friday's game averaging just 17.7 points on 40 per cent shooting before scoring 24 points.

And after placing him with MVP Russell Westbrook and fellow All-Star Paul George for the NBA's latest Big Three, the Thunder were under .500 before Friday's victory.

"I didn't know that to be honest," Thomas said. "But regardless, (they) will figure it out. I am not worried about them. I am worried about the Knicks."

There's less reason to worry than in Anthony's final years in New York. Jackson alternated between trying to win and trying to rebuild seemingly every season, and his insistence on running the triangle offence appeared out of touch in an era when NBA teams are pushing the pace. And his stance toward Anthony last season angered teammates who appreciated the veteran's efforts on and off the court.

Mills and Perry took aim at the culture and signalled a desire to build behind Porzingis, whose average of 25.5 points would be even higher if not for a sprained ankle that forced him to leave one game after 2 1/2 minutes. He looks happy after he was so disillusioned by the atmosphere under Jackson that he blew off his exit meeting last spring.

And while the Knicks appear on the rise, Anthony is trying to keep the Thunder from getting down.

"For the most part what I like about it, guys are trying to figure it out," he said earlier this week. "Guys are trying to make it work. Guys are trying to be unselfish and figure this thing out and we're sticking with it."